Wet Sand and Buffing - Need help!

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Just dug up a old model car kit that I had in storage that I haven't touched. Due to it being stored away for so long the paint has faded.

Now I want to spray paint it red but I haven't touched spray paint in 5 years so I've lost my touch on this matter and would like some advice from fellow experts. Here's what I did and the tools I have:

- I'm strictly using Tamiya Color, I've used them in the past and I love them. Currently using their Red, Semi Gloss Clear and Fine Surface Primer.

1) Sanded it out and then used 1200 grit to make the surface smooth

2) Primed it with two coats

3) I found a couple of nicks and cracks so I filled them in with putty and resanded it down

4) Primed it again with one coat

5) Waited 24 hours before waiting to apply the base color paint, which in this case is red, I did 2 nice coats, no runs.

Now this is where I'm stuck.

Currently the surface has sort of a matte grainy texture on it. I managed to find this picture on another forum which also has the same texture my model currently has:

Now I want to get rid of this texture and get the smooth glossy finish but I'm stuck on what steps to take next.

What do I do? Do I do:

1) Wet Sand with 3600 to 12000 -> Semi Gloss Coat -> Wet Sand -> Buff

or

2) Semi Gloss Coat with no sanding on top of paint coat -> Wet Sand with 3600 to 12000 -> Buff

I bought the Novus Polish kit on Ebay so I'm waiting for that to come in.

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My mistake. I completely missed that section. Thanks for the heads up.

You're welcome. Sorry to come across so rude but it gets really frustrating. Now for the problem at hand. What are you using as a primer? It looks to me like a possible reaction between the primer and paint.

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- I'm strictly using Tamiya Color, I've used them in the past and I love them. Currently using their Red, Semi Gloss Clear and Fine Surface Primer.

Currently the surface has sort of a matte grainy texture on it. I managed to find this picture on another forum which also has the same texture my model currently has:

Sounds like you either have a reaction between the paint and primer or you have a texture caused by your spraying technique. Was the red a TS spray color or a PS spray color? TS colors are meant for styrene models, PS are not. If it's a TS color, did you hold the can too far away from the model as you painted it, or did you move the can too quickly as you sprayed?

Here's an article that might help you understand what is going on and how to fix it:

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I listed what I used in my first post. I'm strictly using Tamiya Color for Plastic as I know they don't do well with other brands so everything from the primer to color paint is Tamiya Color for Plastic.

As far as distant, I held it about 8 inches away from it and sprayed it from left to right. I would hold it and then I released it when I got to the other side. So I sprayed left to right, letting go once I passed the model.

I'm just stuck on which one I should do next as other have mentioned that wet sanding will get rid of it.

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I agree with Joseph. If you used Tamiya primer as well, then it's either spray distance or technique. Don't be distressed at this. While Tamiya paints are the best on the market they can be finicky. Weather may be a factor as well with the heat and moisture we've been enduring lately. I say strip it to plastic, then do a little practice spraying on plastic spoons (the spoon test) until you get the finish you want.

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I'm curious as to why you'll apply a SEMI-gloss clear and buff. If you want full gloss, use full gloss clear. If you want matte, don't buff.

I don't usually shoot Tamiya, but if this were any other paint, I'd tend to say it's just your spray technique that has led you to getting a slightly dry, orange-peeled and grainy surface. This happens a lot from painting from too-far away to get good flow out, and is usually just from being out of practice.

I'd try 2400 grit sanding WET overall to level the grain texture, and one or more coats of color to repair any burn-through and even everything out. An additional coat of color might be good if you want to colorsand and buff without clearing.

A good wet application of clear will also go a long way towards evening out a little dry-spray graininess.

The semi-gloss clear question still has me puzzled. Do you want glossy paint, or a matte semi-gloss finish??

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Bill, my supposition here was (OP correct me if i'm wrong) that the OP was using the semi gloss as if one would use a filler primer, only clear, to get the valley's filled in before sanding. Am I correct Andrew?

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Bill, my supposition here was (OP correct me if i'm wrong) that the OP was using the semi gloss as if one would use a filler primer, only clear, to get the valley's filled in before sanding. Am I correct Andrew?

Yes you are correct. I will be polishing and buffing to act as a true "clear coat" and the semi gloss will just be a filler to be a layer over my color paint. I've done it before and it has worked well.

My only question was whether to wet sand, apply the coat and then wet sand, polish and then buff or should I simply clear coat, wet sand, polish and then buff?

But GarageGuy, by what you're saying, I should wet sand to even out the surface and then do one more coat of paint to cover the lost over the sanding and then clear coat it? Can I then polish and buff over that?

Edited July 24, 2013 by Didact

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Tamiya paints have enough inherent gloss in them that you really don't need any clear coats, you can just wetsand the paint starting with 3200 grit and ending with 12,000 grit. You can also start with 3200 and end at 6000 and finish up with your Novus system. You have to remember that your 3200 is the workhorse of your sanding cloths, this is the one that will get rid of all your orange peel. The other grits in conjunction with the Novus system will get rid of all the scratches. One thing to remember which is very important is that you must have enough paint on the body, 2 or 3 coats are not enough, you must have 4 to 5 coats.

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Tamiya paints have enough inherent gloss in them that you really don't need any clear coats, you can just wetsand the paint starting with 3200 grit and ending with 12,000 grit. You can also start with 3200 and end at 6000 and finish up with your Novus system. You have to remember that your 3200 is the workhorse of your sanding cloths, this is the one that will get rid of all your orange peel. The other grits in conjunction with the Novus system will get rid of all the scratches. One thing to remember which is very important is that you must have enough paint on the body, 2 or 3 coats are not enough, you must have 4 to 5 coats.

Thanks for taking the time to reply Cruz!

Okay so then should I just apply 2 more coats of paint onto the model BEFORE wet sanding with the 3200-6000? Even with the current texture it has?

- Apply 2-3 more (light?) coats of paint

- Wet sand it from 3200, 4000, 6000

- Finish it off on top of that by rubbing the Novus Polish with cloths.

I'll check out the link.

Didact, I see you're new here. Listen to Cruz. He knows. His work is always exceptional, so if he says that's the way to do it, count on it being right.

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If you have a clearcoat, apply at least another 2 coats just to be on the safe side. It is imperative that your paint is completely dry before sanding it again. Pace yourself and take it easy, you get out what you put in. If you mess up, no problem, you can always strip the paint and start fresh. Believe me, it will not be the first time you mess up a paintjob, it will happen a few times even if you are an expert.

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If you have a clearcoat, apply at least another 2 coats just to be on the safe side. It is imperative that your paint is completely dry before sanding it again. Pace yourself and take it easy, you get out what you put in. If you mess up, no problem, you can always strip the paint and start fresh. Believe me, it will not be the first time you mess up a paintjob, it will happen a few times even if you are an expert.

Thanks so let me get this straight before diving into it.

- Spray 2-3 more coats of my paint

- Give it 24 hours to dry

- Spray 2 coats of my Semi Gloss Clear coat

- Let that dry

- Wet Sand 3200, 4000, 6000

- Use the Novus Polish Kit

Am I correct on all that? I really appreciate all the help you're providing.

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I'm still not getting why you want to shoot SEMI gloss clear if you're going to wetsand and polish. What am I missing here...??

You're not missing anything. There wouldn't be a huge difference if I swapped the Tamiya Semi Gloss with Tamiya Gloss as the polishing and wet sanding will lead it to look almost the same, if not identical no matter which clear coat I use. The polishing, wet sanding and buffing with all be going over the clear coat anyways.

Also, as of now I can't find a Tamiya TS-13 to order. They discontinued it for whatever reason.

I googled it, looked on eBay and I can't find their clear coat aside from the Semi Gloss so that's what I picked up. If you can find it for me, I would appreciate it and would buy it.

The only clear coat that I can find is Mr Hobby Top Coat but Tamiya paint doesn't do well with other brands.